


learn each other

by sloane (quintic)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Femslash February, Fluff, Mutual Pining, swears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 00:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13559013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quintic/pseuds/sloane
Summary: Lucretia's hobbies haven't really interested her before, but this? This is... kinda fun, once you get the hang of it.And it literally has nothing to do with how delighted Lucretia is, by the way. And she definitely isn't day-dreaming about what kinda positive reaction she might get if she ever asked to help Lucretia edit one of her journals some time, or asked to come exploring with her, or asked her for book recommendations.She's just being a good friend.





	learn each other

**Author's Note:**

> (in my defense i wrote this before the live ep where they actually skate)

The first time they appear on a truly wintry planet, Lucretia makes a point out of finding and purchasing pairs of ice skates for the lot of them. Seven neat pairs with fourteen, silver blades, perfectly sharpened. Taako asks how exactly she knows all of their shoe sizes by heart, but Lucretia pretends she didn't hear him.

"I used to skate at home," she explains, in response to Davenport's obvious bemusement. "Nothing fancy but uh, I used to take lunch breaks and go down to the local rink during winter all the time. It was neat."

A fun reason to be outside for a portion of your day _and_ a way to get some exercise. Lup can see the appeal easy enough, but she's never tried ice skating before. Too flowy, too easy.

"It's not easy," Lucretia informs her, smirking, "It's- well, why don't you come with me?"

And that's how Lup comes to be sitting at the edge of a frozen river bracketing the Starblaster, tugging skates onto her feet for the first time ever. Lucretia is already on the ice. Lup pauses to watch, curious: she's turning in sloppy curlicues, going around and around with her arms outstretched. She keeps laughing whenever she wobbles for some reason. When Lup finishes lacing up, Lucretia skates to her, coming to a halt so quick ice sprays in a little arc from her feet.

"Got those on tight enough?"

"Sure do. Outta the way ice princess, it's my turn."

"Uh uh," Lucretia says with a little click of her tongue, (how does she not understand how annoying that sound is by now, _ugh_ ), and shepherds Lup back with a little gesture, "Lemme check."

"Who _cares_ ," Lup whines, but parks it back on her rock and allows Lucretia to step out onto the side of the bank anyway. She kneels in front of her, and tugs a skate into her lap for inspection.

"Your ankles care."

It takes a while for her to undo Lup's enthusiastic double knot. Lup watches her pick at it with her non-existent fingernails, delighted. 

"You know, if you didn't bite those you'd be able to undo that real easy." 

"Like you're one to lecture about personal hygiene! I've seen you eat your own boogers before."

"Extra protein."

" _Eugh._  Please be silent while I'm working, I need to concentrate."

In the end Lucretia gives up and wrestles the skate off Lup's foot with a good wrench as the last of her patience runs out. "If you had done this up nice and tight in the first place, you could be on the ice by now."

Lup blows a raspberry at her. "I'm serious!" Lucretia insists as the knot finally allows itself to be picked apart. She pushes it gently back onto Lup's foot, and sets about lacing it up properly. "You're gonna get sore feet anyway but we may as well stop you from breaking something while you're at it."

"Is there _anything_ you don't know?" 

To counter the little sneer with which Lup says this, Lucretia simply rolls her eyes, tying the ends in a neat little bow. "Nope," she says, and pops the 'p' with much fanfare. "I know everything, actually. Next skate."

Lup switches her feet, arms folded across her chest impatiently. "Do you know how to do jumps?"

"Oh, shit," Lucretia's tone is very dry, "I do not know how to do jumps! You've discovered my only weakness. Maybe you can learn jumps and teach me them, and _then_ I'll know everything."

Before Lup can reply to that, she finishes tying the other lace and gives Lup's knee a pat before she stands. "Okay! You're Lucretia approved."

"Well thank god for that." When Lup stands she does have to admit that she feels a lot less unsteady in the skates. Lucretia reaches to take her hand so they can step out onto the ice together.

"Oh- _kay_ ," Lup says triumphantly, taking her hand back and lifting her foot– and her other leg goes backwards and out from underneath her. Lucretia manages to half-catch her before she hits the ice by grabbing her arms tight, and the pair of them sink slowly down together on their knees. Lucretia is laughing long and loud, clutching the shoulders of Lup's jacket as she leans into her and it makes Lup start to laugh too, unable to help herself. It's hard not to join in when Lucretia's set off properly because she's too often short, little sniggers, or snorts of humour. Lup loves it when she lets go, when she laughs so hard her eyes scrunch up tight. It's real cute. She's glad that she can make Lucretia laugh like that because apparently, few people can.

Eventually Lucretia wobbles to her feet and helps Lup back up too, still giggling. Lup can feel her cheeks heating even in the wind chill. 

"Cut it out," she protests, digging her nails into Lucretia's hands until she gasps and twists away.

"Don't!"

" _You_ don't! It's slippery-er than I thought it would be!"

"It's _ice_ –" Lucretia manages before she dissolves into another peal of helpless laughter. She dances back out of the way of Lup's fist. "No hits!"

"You don't seem to have a problem," Lup points out, watching Lucretia skate with a frown on her face, trying to map out her movements. She's so fluid! It looks easy.

"Because I know how to skate," Lucretia calls, and does another curlicue to demonstrate just how very good she is. It's very pretty. Lup sighs in frustration, and takes another step, but gently this time, and does not fall. Keeping her arms outstretched helps. With a bit of trial and error she quickly realises that her problem lies in balance. Lean too far forward or back and she has to circle her arms wildly to keep upright.

After one such desperate effort to remain standing, she finds she's created enough momentum to coast forward a little. She looks up as Lucretia carves a line out of the ice far ahead of her, loping into an easy, simple loop. She's so sure of herself in her movements, and Lup tries to cast back, tries to think if she's ever seen a display of confidence quite like this from Lucretia before and she comes up empty-handed.

And she's never really thought of Lucretia as beautiful before. 

It's not that she doesn't think Lucretia is good looking! She's very cute for sure, with her bottle top glasses and her bad posture and her sticky-out ears, but beautiful is a word Lup holds in reserve because it usually  _means_ something more. It certainly means something now, as she watches Lucretia's head tip back slowly until she's staring at the sky, her dark throat bared to the white clouds. It's almost like she's a different person. She's always been a little awkward in her movements and she hangs back from the rest of them, and she's the best friend Lup thinks she's ever had,  _will_ ever have. They've been spending way more time together recently and Lup's found there's a lot more to her than her shy, bookish nerd routine. She's bitingly sarcastic, quick witted, surprisingly funny. Surprisingly good at skating, too.

Lup watches her hands flutter like birds on the wind as she turns on the ice toward her.

"Looking good," Lucretia says, when she makes it back over to check in.

"When am I ever not?" 

It's a mark of their friendship that Lucretia doesn't react at all to that. "You should try bending your knees a little bit. And don't go straight, try to go on an angle."

"I'm going to fall if I go on an angle."

"No you won't."

Lucretia skates in close behind her and stops there, reaching to put both hands on Lup's waist. Lup wriggles automatically and Lucretia's hands dart back from her.

"... They're cold."

"Don't be a baby, I'm just going to show you."

"What is this, some kind of 90's rom-com?"

"You wish," Lucretia says lightly, but Lup can tell she's embarrassed from the way her fingers twitch on the hem of her jacket. "If you don't want me to, I-"

"No no, by all means. Impart upon me your skate wisdom, Luc. Ha ha. Get it? Because skate rhymes with-"

" _Go_ already, oh my god."

Lup angles her skate. Lucretia's hands tighten on her waist and give her a little push. It is, once more, admittedly easier to skate on a fucking angle. Who knew. It is difficult to skate with somebody directly behind you though, especially when they are watching exactly where you put your feet. The level of her scrutiny makes Lup want to fuck it up, just to see if it'll make Lucretia laugh again like she had before. She's taking this really seriously considering it isn't that important. Lup turns her head to try and look over her shoulder as they make their wonky way up the side of the lake.

"Stop trying to look at me, you're going to make yourself fall."

"Believe me chickadee, if I fall I am most certainly taking you with me."

They skate in a slow and uncertain circle around the outside of the river and do not fall once. By the time they make it back to Lup's rock she's feeling more confident. She shakes Lucretia off so she can do it herself, and it takes longer but she still makes it without wiping out. Lucretia is grinning when she makes it back in.

"So, jumps soon?"

"Jumps are gonna be tomorrow, I think," Lup says, surprised to find she is a little out of breath, "Just gonna keep nailing down the basics for today."

"Of course."

Lucretia doesn't look smug though, she looks really happy. Like she's glad she has somebody to share this with, like she's proud that she managed to teach Lup how to do it. She's grinning, and she has her hands in the pockets of her jacket and she looks so relaxed and pleased with herself that Lup feels warm all over, from the tips of her ears right to her toes.

Lucretia's hobbies haven't really interested her before, but this? This is... kinda fun, once you get the hang of it. 

And it literally has nothing to do with how delighted Lucretia is, by the way. And she definitely isn't day-dreaming about what kinda positive reaction she might get if she ever asked to help Lucretia edit one of her journals some time, or asked to come exploring with her, or asked her for book recommendations.

She's just being a good friend.

And then she falls. 

It's dumb because she's not even moving! Her legs just get wobbly, and then she hits the ice in one fluid movement and it knocks the breath right out of her. Pain explodes up her back, right to the base of her neck. It really hurts, but she's laughing as Lucretia rushes to help. 

"Are you okay?"

" _Ow_ – yeah, I'm fine!"

"Why are you laughing?" Lucretia looks torn between legitimate concern and joining in with her, and the confused little scrunch of her mouth only makes Lup giggle harder. "You didn't hit your head, did you?"

"No, it's just– help me up?" 

Lucretia pulls her to her unsteady feet, holding her hand tight to balance her out as she rubs her shoulder. "Thanks."

"No problem. Probably time to go in anyway."

"Nah, I wanna do one more," Lup insists, determined despite the bruises she can practically feel forming. "Come with me."

The way that Lucretia lights up at this proposal is just a bonus, really. "Okay," she says, and reaches out to take Lup's other hand, "Here-"

She slowly starts to skate backward, tugging Lup along with her as she goes. Lup's mouth falls open, and she can't help but whoop with excitement. "You can go _backwards_ , too? I take it back, you can do everything!"

"I'm not very good," Lucretia wheedles, but neatly crosses her skate when Lup wobbles to right the both of them without batting an eye. Just like a professional! Lup whoops again.

"You're fucking _fantastic_ , Luce!"

They complete three laps in a row like that, holding tight to each other. Lup could honestly do this forever, which is _strange_ because they don't talk. They just skate, and Lup stares at their feet and sometimes up at Lucretia when she needs a reminder of her smile, and Lucretia punctuates the softness of her gaze in return with little glances over her shoulder, making sure they don't run into anything. The wind whips at Lup's hair. She's  _freezing_ at this point and her shoulder aches like a bitch and her skates are starting to pinch a little at the tips of her toes but if Lucretia would just keep looking at her like that then she'd skate endless laps around and around and around, minute after hour after day after week after month until the Hunger came to collect them at the end of the cycle, right to the very end.

After the third lap, they stop.

Lucretia nearly pitches over backward the moment she lets go and Lup has to grab her by the lapels of her jacket to stop her from going down.

"Woah there! What's the saying?" she pants, pulling her close to keep her upright. Lucretia's grin is almost blinding, "'Even the mightiest fall', or something–"

Lucretia kisses her. 

Her lips are chapped with cold, and the surge of movement almost makes Lup fall over again. She breaks away and Lucretia grabs her elbows, her breathless laughter filling the space between them with little clouds.

"Sorry."

"You tryin' to kill me or something?" Lup's tone is soft, her heart in her throat. Lucretia isn't looking at her, but she doesn't seem shy or regretful. On the contrary, Lup's never seen her so smug.

If this had happened under any other circumstances Lup knows she wouldn't have waited for an answer to her question. She wouldn't have asked one in the first place. She wouldn't have let Lucretia stop kissing her from the moment she had. Lup would have twined her arms around her and held her and _shown_ her how she felt in return but Lucretia's silent confidence demands more from her some how. 

"If I were trying to kill you, I wouldn't have taught you how to skate," Lucretia says finally, and takes Lup's hand to pull her to the bank. "You would have taken yourself out eventually."

Lup gasps as she stumbles up onto ground that, mercifully, isn't slippery. "It's the perfect crime."

Lucretia taps her nose, and sits down to take off her skates.

"What is this," Lup says, watching her.

Lucretia picks at her laces with her nails.

"What is what?"

"You're bad at playing dumb. What's _this_ , Lucretia."

"I like you," Lucretia says simply, and looks up at Lup. Lup would have thought her completely fearless if she couldn't see her fingers tapping anxiously on the smooth surface of her skates. "I like you, and I like spending time with you and... that's it."

"Is it?" 

"Lup," Lucretia says, and her voice is soft, uncertain now. Lup hates the way it makes her heart lurch. "Don't."

"No, Luce– I mean, I like you too. Duh." 

It's a shame that of the two of them Lucretia is the painter, because Lup wants to capture her incredulous expression forever and ever and ever.

"... You do?"

"Oh, my god," Lup says, and wobbles her way over, "Budge up."

Lucretia shuffles over on the rock and Lup sits, elbowing her in the side until she laughs. Her shoulders are all tensed up, and Lup can't help but put a hand on one of them as if she can coax it to relax with touch alone.

"I'm gonna fall off."

"Good! You know, for somebody so smart you sure are an idiot."

She kisses Lucretia on her open mouth before she can respond and Lucretia makes a soft little noise in the back of her throat, her hands fluttering helplessly until they come to perch gently on top of Lup's legs.

They sit together like that for a long, lovely moment, and Lup finds she can't feel the cold at all any more.

"And _break_ ," she says when she finally pulls back. Lucretia looks subdued, maybe even a little dazed, like she's trying to figure out whether or not this is a dream. Lup pats her knee.

"Glad we got this all sorted out! Now I won't feel like a mooch for asking for more skating lessons."

"You wanna skate more?"

Lucretia looks so amazed that Lup could kiss her again and again and again and again, and actually, she does, but only once. No need to get carried away. They have a lot of time left, to learn each other.

"Hell yeah, babe! Gotta learn the jumps."

"Gotta learn the jumps," Lucretia echoes, and pulls her other skate off with a thump and a soft laugh that sounds like music. "Well, in that case, I'll come skating any time. You know where to find me."


End file.
